Football
Paul Murphy 7y

Kiatisuk Senamuang hits back at Thailand FA, explains why he quit

Kiatisuk "Zico" Senamuang hit out at Football Association of Thailand (FAT) president Somyot Poompanmoung in his first interview since announcing his resignation as Thailand head coach last week.

Kiatisuk quit after back-to-back defeats to Saudi Arabia and Japan in World Cup qualifying saw Thailand officially out of contention for the 2018 finals in Russia. The FAT president said he was "embarrassed" by the results after the War Elephants suffered their sixth loss in seven matches to stay bottom of Group B on one point.

But Kiatisuk struck back at Somyot in the Thai media. "We lost matches but won fans' hearts. It is the FAT president and its executive board who passed judgment on me," he said in comments reported by the Bangkok Post.

"I was a national player for 15 years and national coach for five years for a total of 20 years, and I had never thought about quitting. But I can't accept this [criticism] and I think I made the right decision."

Kiatisuk has a point in feeling aggrieved regarding Somyot's choice of words. He has achieved more than any head coach of the national team since Peter Withe at the turn of the millennium.

His list of honours includes taking the U23 side to a SEA Games gold medal in 2013 and an impressive fourth place at the 2014 Asian Games. Kiatisuk also lifted the AFF Suzuki Cup twice with the senior side, winning the 2016 title last December. 

And he became only the second head coach to steer the War Elephants to the final stage of World Cup qualifying, and they finished ahead of Iraq to get there. To a large extent, he seems to have been a victim of his own success, raising expectations to a level that the team were not ready to meet.

Kiatisuk's comments highlight the strained relationship between him and Somyot since the latter accepted the position as FAT president in February 2016. The former striker also took the opportunity to compare the new administrator unfavourably with former FAT head Worawi Makudi, stressing Worawi's role in youth development, including the appointment of Kiatisuk as U23 boss in 2013.

"I have told the FAT president [Somyot] to develop young players, but I don't know what has done," said Kiatisuk.

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A post shared by Kiatisuk Senamuang (@coach_zico) on

The timing of this comment was ironic as Somyot announced the signing of a contract with Ekkono Method Soccer Services on Tuesday. The goal of the partnership is to help develop young players, with a view to helping them qualify for the 2026 World Cup.

Ekkono, a Barcelona-based company, is providing four Spanish coaches to oversee the development of the U14, U16, U19 and U21 age groups.

When Thailand signed an MOU with Japan in Tokyo last week, Benjamin Tan, deputy director of the Thai League, told ESPN FC, "Japan have a long-term roadmap and it's a very important element in the structure of their association with targets, which include reaching the World Cup and I think that's one of the priorities that we need to look at."

The partnership with Ekkono looks like being a key part of this road map as Somyot aims to avoid a repeat of the 2018 campaign's "failure".

Meanwhile, the search for a successor for Kiatisuk goes on. Speculation turned to former boss Winfried Schaefer on Monday when he met Somyot in Bangkok.

Schaefer is on holiday in Thailand but admits he is seeking a new challenge. Though the timing of the meeting was coincidental, his experience of taking Cameroon to the 2002 World Cup finals ticks one of the boxes that Somyot wants on the new man's credentials.

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